Karen Black Biography

Karen Blanche Black was an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter known predominantly for starring in independent films. She was also a singer-songwriter and contributed to the soundtracks of a number of her films and TV shows. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards three times and won twice. Born and raised in an Illinois-based affluent family, Black attended Northwestern University, from where she earned her degree in theatre arts. She began her acting career on stage and eventually made it to the Broadway. In 1960, she made her screen debut in the film ‘The Prime Time’. Seven years later, she debuted on the small screen in ‘The F.B.I.’. Black has often been described as a “rangy, imperfect beauty”, especially for her close-set, irredeemably myopic eyes that seemed to look out of alignment when the camera shot her from the front. Over the course of her five-decade-long career, she garnered about 200 film and television credits.